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Boebert gets Trump nod for another run in Colorado’s conservative stronghold
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Boebert gets Trump nod for another run in Colorado’s conservative stronghold

By Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics Calling her a "MAGA Warrior," President Donald Trump this week endorsed U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert's reelection bid in Colorado's 4th Congressional District, the state's most heavily Republican seat. The staunch Trump ally is seeking a fourth term in Congress next year. A former restaurant owner and Second Amendment activist, Boebert was elected to two terms representing the Western Slope-based 3rd Congressional District in 2020 and 2022 before moving across the state last year to run for the safer seat, which covers Douglas County and the Eastern Plains. "Congresswoman Lauren Boebert is an America First Patriot, who is doing an incredible job representing Colorado’s 4th Congressional District!" Trump posted on Truth Social, the social media...
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Governor Polis Gets an Earful from Rural Towns Tired of Being Ignored
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State, Approved, Colorado Politics

Governor Polis Gets an Earful from Rural Towns Tired of Being Ignored

By Hap Fry | Colorado Politics STEAMBOAT SPRINGS • Once upon a time, Marsha Daughenbaugh supported Gov. Jared Polis from her working cattle and hay ranch some 8 miles outside of Steamboat. “Let me preface this,” Daughenbaugh said, while making day-before preparations for a Fourth of July gathering for family and friends, before pausing and adding, “I voted for Governor Polis the first go around, but I’ve become very disappointed in what he has become and what his approach to agriculture has been.” “I feel like he has a much deeper, more urban interest in his heart,” Daughenbaugh said. “I was born and raised here,” said the well-spoken 72-year-old rancher. “My folks worked very, very hard to put this ranch together. I believe deeply in agriculture. We all have to do what we can ...
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‘This is no longer an agriculture-friendly environment’: Colorado ranchers slam Polis agenda
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

‘This is no longer an agriculture-friendly environment’: Colorado ranchers slam Polis agenda

By Rachael Wright | Colorado Politics Ranchers and farmers assess Polis administration Janie VanWinkle is contemplating something she never thought she’d ever consider — selling the family ranch after four generations of living and working in Colorado. “The political environment is so toxic that if we do speak up at all, it falls on deaf ears,” said VanWinkle, a Western Slope rancher. “This is no longer an agriculture-friendly environment or atmosphere. Five years ago, I could never imagine having this conversation with my family.” Colorado's agricultural industry is the state's second-largest economic driver, accounting for more than $47 billion in activity and employing more than 195,000 people. The export of Colorado cattle as of 2024 generated nearly $4.5 billion, making Co...
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Gimelshteyn: Don’t blame Trump—Colorado’s education crisis was created by failed state and local leadership
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Commentary, State

Gimelshteyn: Don’t blame Trump—Colorado’s education crisis was created by failed state and local leadership

By Lori A. Gimelshteyn | Commentary, Colorado Politics According to the 2024 Colorado Measures of Academic Standards (CMAS) results, an alarming seven in 10 students in Denver Public Schools (DPS) are not meeting grade-level expectations in math and nearly 60% of students are not proficient in English. That is not a small gap; it is a catastrophic failure. But instead of taking responsibility, DPS and progressive politicians are pointing fingers at the federal government, pretending they had no warning of federal funding requirements, all while defending classrooms increasingly focused on ideology instead of academics. On July 2, CBS Colorado reported the Trump administration froze nearly $7 billion in federal education funding nationwide, including $70 million earmarked for Colo...
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Colorado braces for $858M healthcare shift as feds pull back Medicaid, SNAP funding, prompting special session
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado braces for $858M healthcare shift as feds pull back Medicaid, SNAP funding, prompting special session

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics Colorado legislators met at the state Capitol on Friday morning to review how the recently-adopted federal budget will affect health issues in the state. The review is among the steps lawmakers are taking in preparation for an expected special session. Multiple sources have told Colorado Politics that the special session will take place during the week of Aug. 18. Friday's meeting wasn't publicly announced on the legislature's website; the General Assembly had earlier cut funding for many interim committees due to budget constraints.  Senate Democrats announced on their website an "informal meeting" of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, which drew a dozen lawmakers and dozens of lobbyists, journalists and others to the ...
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Colorado GOP elects Holtorf as vice chair: ‘We’re standing at a crossroads’
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado GOP elects Holtorf as vice chair: ‘We’re standing at a crossroads’

By Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics A sharply divided Colorado Republican Party elected former House Minority Whip Richard Holtorf to fill the state GOP's vacant vice chair position Monday night during an online meeting that laid bare ongoing disputes that have consumed the state party for more than a year. Roughly 400 Republican state central committee members cast their votes for the party's No. 2 job nearly two hours into a special meeting held on the Zoom teleconference platform to replace Darrel Phelan, the state GOP's previous vice chair, who attributed his abrupt resignation last month to his frustration over state chair Brita Horn's refusal to let him help run the party. Horn, Phelan and Russ Andrews, the state party secretary, won election to their po...
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Wolf Program Hits $8 Million as Critics Ask Who Really Benefits
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State, Approved, Colorado Politics

Wolf Program Hits $8 Million as Critics Ask Who Really Benefits

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Colorado has now spent more than $8 million over five years on the wolf restoration program, according to a presentation made at Thursday's Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting in Grand Junction. Justin Rutter, the assistant director for financial and capital services at Colorado Parks and Wildlife, also addressed the apparent discrepancy between the General Assembly's Blue Book estimate of the annual program cost, which is around $800,000. He noted a caveat in the Blue Book language around the program's cost, one that said, "actual state spending will depend on the details of the plan," developed by the commission, and the cost to compensate for livestock losses caused by wolves. Those additional costs since the ballot measure...
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Colorado insurance division warns of 28% hike—Democrats blame Congress, not policy
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado insurance division warns of 28% hike—Democrats blame Congress, not policy

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Health insurance for the individual market in Colorado could increase by 28% for 2026, according to the Colorado Division of Insurance. And the rate for the Western Slope could be even higher, averaging as much as 38%, the division said on Wednesday. Rate filings will become public on Friday. The division attributed the above-average increases to President Donald Trump’s federal tax bill, recently passed by Congress. "These circumstances are not unique to Colorado, and other states will likely have similar increases," the division said in a statement Wednesday. The driver for those increases is the loss of financial assistance that helps people afford health insurance, and which also puts downward pressure on premium rates. That assis...
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GOP vacancy committee to fill House District 64 seat at September 13 meeting after Armagost resignation
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

GOP vacancy committee to fill House District 64 seat at September 13 meeting after Armagost resignation

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics A GOP House District 64 vacancy committee will meet at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 13 to choose a replacement for Rep. Ryan Armagost, R-Berthoud. Armagost recently resigned to take a new job in Arizona. Armagost's resignation is effective Sept. 1. He was first elected in 2022, and in the 2025 session served as minority whip. The vacancy committee will meet at the New Life Church in Berthoud. The meeting will be held in person only and will not be livestreamed. HD64 chair and Weld County Commissioner Scott James said two people have formally announced their intent to seek the seat, and a third is interested. Scott Slaugh of Johnstown is an Army veteran and owner of Fall River Homes. He has filed for the seat for the 2026 election. Col...
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Governor Solicits Input After Millions Already Spent on Pedestrian Project
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Local, Approved, Colorado Politics

Governor Solicits Input After Millions Already Spent on Pedestrian Project

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Gov. Jared Polis is asking Coloradans to weigh in on the $29 million pedestrian bridge he envisions as part of the state's 150th birthday celebration. However, the bridge project, which will primarily be funded by private donations, is facing challenges in its next step: securing approval from the legislature's Capital Development Committee. The bridge, according to its design, will connect the grounds of the state Capitol across Lincoln Street to Lincoln Veterans Memorial Park, and then across Broadway to Civic Center Park. The state has already allocated $8.5 million of taxpayer money to initiate the project, but the remaining funds will need to be raised through private donations. The initial cost is $18 million, but an additional $10...
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